Eurovision 2012 Countdown: A short history of Spain (in Eurovision)

 ¡Hola!

 Spain has certainly had a colourful Eurovision history, from their stage invasion in 2010, to the unforgettable "Baila el Chiki-chiki" in 2008, to their 2011 entry "Que me quiten lo bailao," by Lucía Pérez which I love and which has to be one of the happiest, bounciest Eurovision songs ever ♥

 I personally think that in the last few years they have been one of the more consistent nations when it comes to entering if not amazing then certainly very good songs - songs that have potential, either to win or to become Eurovision legend - as in the case of Baile el Chiki-chike.

 When I think of Spain in Eurovision, one of the first songs that come to mind - after Lucía Pérez - is "I Love You Mi Vida," by D'NASH.

 When I first saw this and my Spanish wasn't as good as it is now, I genuinely thought they were saying they loved their life. In actually fact, "mi vida" is a term of endearment and means, "my dear" or "my darling." I kind of like it more now that I know it is a love song than I did when I thought it was just one of those typical shouty Eurovision party anthems (although it still isn't that far from being the latter!)

 I was surprised to see this was from 2007 - in my memory it was an earlier competition. But hey, I must be wrong. It is up there with Krisse Salminen as one of the things that made the 2007 competition great (although I still think Krisse MADE that Eurovision!).

 The next year, however, we were subjected to... Baile el Chike-chike. It was, let's say, an unusual song. But it kind of had its place in the competition, I felt. Sometimes you need something a bit different. (WARNING - strobe lighting in the video below)

 I do think the dancing arrangement is somewhat sexist, with the man ordering the women to do his dance moves, and then him seeming to inspect their performance, and the general lack of clothes on the women. That's one side of this song that I do not approve of.

 Otherwise... I think there's room for a few novelty songs each year; in fact I'd be disappointed if there weren't any.

 In 2010 - one of my favourite Eurovision years - there was the famous stage invasion during the performance of "Algo pequeñito" - "Something tiny."

 The first video is the performance uninterrupted; the second includes the stage invasion.

 The song was performed by Daniel Diges, with support from an array of toys/circus characters, I'm not sure which. Whatever they are, I personally find the song and performance a bit weird and almost scary... no me gusta mucho.

 I have to admit, disrespectful as it was to the performers, I did enjoy the stage invasion - especially as it looks at first as though he's supposed to be there! I didn't realise he was an intruder until security chased him off!

 Last year, in Düsseldorf, Spain's Eurovision offering was Lucía Pérez with what is quite possibly my favourite Eurovision song ever and certainly one of the happiest and most upbeat songs I have ever heard. This is "Que me quiten lo bailao." I will warn you that this version of the video - the only decent version Blogger will let me embed - has some rather psychedelic stuff going on with the graphics from about 0.08 to 0.14.

 I love her voice, her joyful, bubbly persona in the video and the song itself, as well as the chance to get a glimpse of the Carnival celebrations in Sitges, Catalonia. It looks like an amazing fiesta!

 Whenever I hear this song, I just want to dance. It's brilliant ♥

 ¡Gracias por una canción maravillosa!

 Thanks for reading.

 Liz x

Songs: I Love You Mi Vida - D'NASH - 2007

Baila el Chike-chike - Rodolfo Chikilicuatre - 2008

Algo pequeñito - Daniel Diges - 2010

Que me quiten lo bailao - Lucía Pérez - 2011

Eurovision 2012 Countdown: Intro - and Flashmob from Norway 2010

 Hello, bonjour, hola, olá, ciao, hallo!

 It's two weeks until the grand finals of Eurovision 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan and, as I have always been a huge Eurovision fan, I have decided to do a series of daily blogs in the run-up to the big event. I will highlight some of my favourite Eurovision songs past and present, and we can share some Eurovision nostalgia for classic acts such as ABBA, Johnny Logan and Katrina and the Waves, among others.

 Eurovision is quite a big deal in my house; we always have a Eurovision party and vote for our favourites. I just think it is amazing how they manage to unite so many people in so many different countries with one event. When you watch the contest, you have this wonderful warm feeling knowing that so many other people all over the world are watching the same thing as you. I love Eurovision ♥

 In the vein of uniting Europe, I thought the first thing I would share should be this, quite possibly my favourite Eurovision moment ever: the flashmob during Eurovision 2010 in Norway. It is simply breathtaking, and usually brings tears to my eyes. I think this is what people mean when they talk about the "numinous".

 This is just sensational - certainly the best interval act I have ever seen and, as I said, possibly the best moment of Eurovision I have ever seen. 

 You can tell from the beginning that it is going to be something special - and when the host Haddy announces, "Europe, it's time to dance!" she looks so regal, like a queen... she commands respect. If she asked me to dance I would dance!

 Madcon are brilliant and the whole seven and a half minutes of the song, and the dance, and the bringing together of all these people... just mesmerising. We should do this more often! I personally think they should do a flashmob like this one every year at Eurovision.

 Eurovision 2012 is on its way, and I am greatly looking forward to it! Bring on Baku! I will be back tomorrow with more Eurovision moments. 

 Liz x

Song: Glow - Madcon - 2010

♥ Martika ♥

 Ciao,

 It's April and I have been listening to all kinds of music since I last updated this blog - in fact a lot has happened in my life since I last updated this blog. For one thing, I am 18 now!

 I have also been to France and back twice, once to Paris and once to Montpellier. These cities are both amazing, but are so different. Paris is so busy and vibrant and full of life, and you really feel as though you're in the middle of it all when you're in Paris; the middle of the universe. You're where everything is happening!

 Montpellier has a much more relaxed feel, and is absolutely beautiful with some magnificent architecture and palm trees lining the streets, and as it has three universities it is full of students and the nightlife is... pretty good, to say the least.

 I love both cities for different reasons, and I really couldn't decide which is my favourite. They're both wonderful.

 I'm also very happy because I've had an article of mine published in a national magazine: Your Cat magazine. The article is, surprisingly enough, about my cat. He is called Murphy, and it is lovely that this beautiful, gentle and inspirational creature can now be recognised as the hero he is. He is a survivor, and the best pet I could ever wish for. I love him and I hope the readers of the magazine will too ♥

 Anyway, as I said I have been listening to lots of different music recently, especially Nanci Griffith, Joan Armatrading and Martika. Nanci Griffith and Joan Armatrading are both fantastic artists of whom I have been a fan for a long time, and both will probably have a blog post dedicated to them in the near future. However, Martika, aka Marta Marrero, is someone I have discovered more recently, and whose music I adore, and this blog post will be about her.

 I am listening to her music right now, and singing and dancing along - I literally cannot help it. The beat is so infectious, and the passion in her voice - she clearly loves what she does, and I find that when an artist clearly loves their music, it is easy for me to love it as well.

 When I say I discovered her recently; I was familiar with Toy Soldiers, which was without doubt her biggest hit and is still her best known song, especially since Eminem sampled the chorus in his 2005 song, Like Toy Soldiers (which I remember seeing on Top of the Pops when it came out and thinking that the chorus was the only good bit - obviously I was going to grow up to be a Martika fan!)

 I then heard the original Toy Soldiers at the gym (where I first heard a lot of my favourite songs - they had good musical taste at that gym) and later I found it on YouTube and fell in love. When I found out that the song is supposedly about drug addiction, I liked it even more, because I like it when a singer and/or songwriter chooses to tackle a difficult subject - and in this case, she got a massive number one hit out of it; thus spreading the awareness of a global problem.

 I know I probably say this a lot, but I really think Toy Soldiers is a song like no other: deep, haunting and powerful, it can really send chills down your spine. And it is so beautiful. Her voice is amazing, and you can tell that every word has an emotional significance for her, from the way she sings it. She is amazing ♥ and this song is without doubt a classic.

 The next Martika song I want to tell you about is "Water," which I discovered only the other day - like I said, I had always known Toy Soldiers, but it is more recently that I have started to uncover the rest of Martika's sensational back catalogue. And there is some pretty amazing - and unbelievably underrated stuff in there! Water is just fantastic - and I love how she sings in Spanish as well as in English. The passion in her voice in both languages is just so powerful, and her voice itself is sublime. If Martika had never become a singer, it would have been a huge loss for the music industry.

 I can't believe that, according to Wikipedia anyway, Water was not released as a single in the US, and it only reached number 59 in the UK. It is simply beautiful and should be top 10 at least, in both countries!

 She sings with such genuine love and passion, and the song is brilliant - technically an excellent song, and so full of raw emotion. From many singers, all the water imagery might get a bit tiresome, but from Martika... You could never get sick of it because you can tell that she means every word, and it makes perfect sense. I love her!

 Finally, More Than You Know. An 80s classic! Upbeat, bouncy; a happy tune despite the slightly bittersweet lyrics... You just want to get up and dance. Correction: you just have to get up and dance, and sing along too! As with Toy Soldiers, there is a Spanish version too, and as I love the Spanish language, this is something I am pleased about!

 I love how the official video version of this song is a rather self-indulgent 6 minutes 13 seconds! Luckily there is a shorter version if you don't have 6 minutes to spare. Yet every second of the full version is fantastic, and I recommend listening to it at least once and watching her amazing dancing - I think she moves like a cross between Prince and George Micheal - but better than either of them!

 More Than You Know is up there with the big anthems of the 80s, but sadly I had never heard it until a few months ago. Martika needs more love! She is amazing and so genuinely underrated. She is one of the true stars of the late 80s/early 90s, along with my other musical heroes, Roxette.

 Spread the Martika love! She has so many great songs that you never hear on the radio; find her on YouTube and enjoy the Martika beyond Toy Soldiers (although Toy Soldiers is amazing. But she has so much more wonderful music!)

 Martika is amazing; I am so glad I discovered her fantastic, evergreen music, and I look forward to enjoying her music and her beautiful voice for many years to come ♥

 Liz x

 Songs: Toy Soldiers - Martika - 1989
            Water - Martika - 1990
            More Than You Know - Martika - 1988
            Como Un Juguete (Spanish version of Toy Soldiers) - Martika - 1989
            Quiero Entregarte Mi Amor (Spanish version of More Than You Know) - Martika - 1989

Strictly good music

 Hi!

 Yes, Strictly Come Dancing is almost upon us once more, so I thought I would do a blog post about songs I have discovered through the programme. I watched it on-off for the first few series, then started watching it regularly the year Tom Chambers won. Over the years I've supported Denise Lewis, Colin Jackson, Tom Chambers, Ricky Whittle, Scott Maslen and Matt Baker - as you will probably have noticed if you are an avid fan, my favourites do tend to come second for some reason : (

 Probably the best musical discovery I have made through the show is this song:

 Through this dance:

                                          

 Come on, you have to love it! I would learn to salsa just to be able to do that dance! As for the song, I had heard bits of it previous to it featuring on Strictly, but this was the first time I heard a good amount of it, and I realised it's a really good song - whether performed by Deniece Williams or the Strictly band. And I love the instrumental, and what they do with it in this salsa! Plus, the lyrics are just so sweet.

 Secondly, I discovered this through another of Natalie Lowe's superb dances: her waltz with Ricky Whittle.

 This is so beautiful; I loved this pair and was deperate for them to win (they came second overall). And I love the song, and I think this dance makes perfect use of it. It's truly mesmerising.

 There is also this gorgeous dance - again Natalie Lowe; this time with her professional partner Ian Waite.

 I have seen this pair live and met them afterwards, and they are both lovely : ) This dance is so moving. It also led me to the song, which I am now a huge fan of. And her dress is so stunning! I wish I had a dress just like that! Overall, an amazing song and dance, united perfectly by two brilliant dancers and choreographers.

 This final song is one I mentioned a while ago on this blog as being a real favourite of mine. I discovered it through the Strictly Come Dancing tour, where Chris Hollins and Ola Jordan danced to it. I had never heard it before, and now I don't know how I ever managed without it. It is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever come across.

 So, roll on the new series of Strictly! As a Natalie fan I will have my eye on Audley, and I am also looking forward to seeing Edwina Currie; I have met her and she is lovely. I think Harry Judd and Jason Donovan are my favourites to win. I know a lot of people have their money on Holly Valance, but I don't know much about her, so I will have to wait and see how she dances on her first Strictly show.

 I know how I have to finish this, cheesy as it may be...

 Keeeeep listening!

 (I know, I know.)

 Thanks for reading.

 Liz x

 Songs: Let's Hear It for the Boy - Deniece Williams (1984)

            Kissing You - Des' ree (1997)

            You Don't Bring Me Flowers - Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand (1978)

            Don't Know Much - Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville (1989)